Pregnant Kate Middleton: duchess' condition sparks twins rumours

Pregnant Kate Middleton could very well be carrying twins, medical experts have commented - because the duchess is suffering from acute morning sickness.

Duchess Kate is currently being treated in hospital for the ailment, otherwise known as hyperemesis gravidarum – a condition which is more commonly associated with women who are carrying twins.

Now rumours are rife that the royal, who is married to Prince William, could be carrying not just one baby, but two.

But if Kate is indeed carrying twins we won’t know for a good few weeks yet. In fact the duchess isn’t even at the 12-week gestation period yet, with Kate and William believed to have taken the unusual decision to announce the pregnancy so early because of her admission to hospital.

Kate remains in King Edward VII Hospital in London today, with her husband Prince William by her side, as she continues to be treated for hyperemesis gravidarum. The rare condition, which can cause dehydration and vomiting, is usually treated with the administration of intravenous fluids and anti-sickness medication.

Some women suffer with acute morning sickness up to around 20 weeks’ gestation – but it is hoped that Kate won't suffer as badly and will be able to leave hospital in the next few days, albeit while taking bed rest at home.

Baby rumours have flown about for months now, with royal watchers noting that the duchess was spotted drinking water out of a wine glass during her and William’s South Seas trip, as well as sporting a slightly fuller figure and face – which all pointing towards a possible pregnancy.

In reality everyone has been waiting for the news ever since Kate Middleton married Prince William on April 29 2011.

But it was not until yesterday (December 3) at 4.01pm that the happy news was confirmed, with a statement issued by St James’s Palace, which read: “Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby.

“The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news.

“The Duchess was admitted this afternoon to King Edward VII Hospital in Central London with Hyperemesis Gravidarum. As the pregnancy is in its very early stages, Her Royal Highness is expected to stay in hospital for several days and will require a period of rest thereafter.”

If Kate and William do have twins (or triplets), I wonder if they will hear the same sort of questions, some funny, some outright rude that my niece and her husband hear when they are out with their triplets (actually triplet girls (identical twins and one fraternal) and their “big” sister born a mere 11 months earlier (and no; no IVF or fertility drugs and no they are not Irish just in case you’re wondering ;),)

The Top 15 Stupid Things People Say to Parents of Twins (some of these I’ve actually heard, you might have heard some of these as well):

15. “I could never do it.” (Oh really. What would you do? Are you suggesting I put them on the curb with signs around their necks that say, “Free to a good home. My mom can’t do it.”?)

14. “Do they have different personalities?” (No. They are the same human being divided into two parts.)

13. Said by a stranger, “They’re identical, right?” Mom answers, “No. They’re fraternal.” Stranger response, “They are NOT!” (OK. You’re right. I have no idea what I’m talking about. These are not my children. I thought it would be fun to borrow them from a mom down at Baby Gap. It’s been more than an hour. I guess I should return them.)

12. “Are they ‘paternal’ twins?” (Yes. They have a father. There was only one virgin birth.)

11. “Just wait till they’re older. It only gets harder.” (Thank you. I woke up this morning hoping I’d receive a word of discouragement while pushing a cart of preschoolers down the cereal aisle.)

10. “When one cries, does he wake the other?” (No. Twins cannot hear each other’s cries because they all communicate with their special telepathic language only.)

9. From a perfect stranger: “Were they in the same sac?” (Hello. Nice to meet you, too. Will you be sharing your gynecological history with me as well?)

8. “Are they developmentally behind?” (Well, let’s see. They’re 3 years old and thus far, all their graduate school applications have been denied. We’ll get back with you on that.)

7. “How do you do it?” (Haven’t you seen the Nike commercials?)

6. Said by a dentist: “I was shocked that they didn’t have the same bite patterns.” (They are two different human beings, not clones.)

5. “You must be SO busy.” (Are you volunteering to clean my house?)

4. Said to a mom of fraternal twins who are different sizes, have different eye color and different face structure: “How do you tell them apart?” (I just look at them.)

3. “What do you do when they both cry at the same time?” (Sometimes I cry. Sometimes I go to Starbucks.)

2. Said to a mom of boy/girl twins: “Are they identical?” (Uh. Not exactly.)

1. Only one comment could be voted No. 1. The choice was clear. Drum roll, please. After a stranger had been informed that the toddler boys were twins, she asked a simple question: “Are they brothers?” (Enough said.)

Since the triplets and their “big” sister are only 11 months apart, people often think they are quads or two sets of twins which is understandable. But one time someone asked their dad if they were quintuplets to which he said “Yes, yes they are.” Then he counted; 1,2,3,4….and said¸”Oh my God! We lost one!”(He quickly told the person he was joking). Another time when the girls were babies and in double strollers, I was at the local mall with my niece, she pushing one stroller and me the other and someone passing us said very loudly “Oh look, identical twin sisters who had identical twins – at the very same time!” While there is a family resemblance, my niece and I besides there being a 20+ year age difference, don’t look anything alike. Then there have been people who wanted to know what sort of “position” my niece and her husband were in when they conceived. One day in answer to that question from a rather rude woman, my niece said, “Our position was to be heavily invested in small cap and immerging growth international stocks but lately we’ve taken to a more conservative position with more in money markets and T-bills. How about you?”

But the one that really get’s to my niece is when someone asks, “Are they “natural”?” She usually smiles and simply says “yes” but sometimes she’ll answer by saying something like, “Well, three of them are but the bigger one…have you ever seen the movie AI?” Or “Yes and no. Two of them we picked up at Whole Foods but the other two, we think they were made in a Chinese factory because they have a lot of melamine and lead in them.”

The triplets are 4 years old now and starting to understand what that means, the identical twins have recently started to pull pranks by switching clothes and answering to each other’s names. The other day one of them was telling her aunt, “Me and my sister were in one egg. Then one day; CRACK! And now we are two!” LOL!

LOL- I never minded the stupid questions, it was always from happy well-meaning people.

But when they were small we did occasionally go grocery shopping with two seperate carts and walk away from each other to avoid being stopped by every stranger in the store.

The first few times we went grocery shopping with both of them in the same cart it took us 3 hours to get out of there, but I have to admit they were amazingly beautiful babies (and now teenage girls)

My niece feels the same way most of the time and has a good sense of humor about it (dad is highly protective though) - most people are more curious and find the girls amazingly cute than they are trying to be rude but OTOH, some people can ask some incredibly silly or intrusive questions when it comes to families with multiples. If you think it was hard going out with twins, imagine what’s it’s like with triplets and one only 11 months older.

Then there’s that my niece has a college age daughter from a previous marriage and her husband a tween son from his previous marriage, who BTW, with his red hair and freckles looks like he could be my kid. I lived with them for about a year when I first moved to PA and when we’d all go out together for a family outing, oh the strange looks we’d get – one adult male with two adult women, one young adult woman and five kids. You can imagine what people were thinking. Can you say “sister wives”? LOL!

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